Leonard b



UNT SAT @FICE LEONARD B. TINKHAM, OF LAVRENCE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORTO HIMSELF AND CHARLES RYAN, OF SAME PLACE.

BED-BOTTOM.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 23,813, dated April 26, 1859*.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEONARD B. TINK- HAM, of Lawrence, in the county ofEssex and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in SpringBed-Bottoms; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

Figure l, shows a perspective view of the bed stead complete, with oneof the slats removed to exhibit the springs. Fig. 2, is a plan view ofo-ne of the rails holding thesprings. Fig. 3, is a side view of the sameshowing a section of the rails. Fig. t, is a sectional end of the slatshowing the rivet. Figs. 5 and 6, represent the iron stirrup forsupporting the rails in the bedstead.

The nature of my invention consists in providing the side rails of abedstead with iron stirrups so that the cross rails may be taken out andreplaced with facility, at the same time saving the necessity ofmortising out the side rails for supporting the cross rails and also bythis arrangement making perfectly tight joints, which is a greatdesideratum in bed-steads, in order to leave no room for vermin. Also inarranging the bed-stead bottom so that the slats will be supported uponsprings, and be readily attached and detached and reversed or turnedover when they have become bent by long long use,-described, representedand specified as follows:

A, represents the side rails of the bed stead, on the inner face ofwhich are screwed, at suitable points, cast iron stirrups a, b, shown byFigs. 5 and 6. The stirrups or tenon boxes b b are placed on one rail asshown by Fig. 2, and the stirrups a, a, arek placed directly opposite onthe other rail. The ends of the cross bars B,

are tenoned so as to fit tightly in these stirrups, and by having thestirrups a, made as shown by Fig. 5, both rails and slats can be readilyremoved from the bedstead by raising the ends out of this stirrup anddrawing the opposite ends out of the tenon boxes Z) Z). The object ofthis provision is for the purpose of removing the entire bed-bottomwithout the trouble of detaching the slats, in cleaning the bedstead,and also by the use of this arrangement the bed-bottom has only fourpoints of support and consequently less liability for the bedstead toget infected wit-h vermin.

The slats C, rest upon S-shaped springs D, secured to the cross bars B,and proceeding from these bars 'above the side rails A. 'Ihese springshave an eye hole c, terminating in a slot cl, which receives the neck ofa movable rivet e, placed near the ends of each slat C. The slats areplaced on the springs D, by inserting the head of the rivet through theeye c, and drawing the neck into the slot Z the rivet on the oppositeend is inserted in a similar manner by pressing the spring and allowingit to spring back, this keeps the necks of the rivets within the slotsand the slots securely fixed to the springs. In case the slats should bebent by use, they are turned overand the rivets having a play in theslots as shown by Fig. 4, are attached to the springs as abovedescribed.

That I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,

The combination of S-formed springs arranged so as to receive themovable rivet and retain the slats in place, with bars B, and stirrupsa, Z), when the same are arranged substantially for the purposes and inthe manner herein above speciiied.

LEONARD B. TINKHAM.

I/Vitnesses E. QI. SHERMAN, Jos. R. FRENCH.

